For running and riding a bicycle and for other spare time sports, many people use GPS based navigation devices and devices recording the route. The target point of the route of the physical training can be set by these devices and the GPS based systems help the performer of the training, i.e., the training subject, to move along the predetermined route, in given cases these devices record the route and certain parameters along the way. However, the GPS-based navigation systems have not been created to be used for physical training purposes, but for navigating one from a given starting point to a fixed target point. If there is more than one routes running to the target point, the navigation system, based on some sort of priority principle, suggests options to choose from the various possible routes. Such principle, for instance, is the shortest route, the fastest route[,] or avoiding certain types of roads, etc.
However, in case of physical training, reaching a target point may not be of a priority, in many cases the starting point and the finishing point coincide with each other, it is important for the person performing the physical training to move along a route satisfactory for his or her physical training needs either by running or by riding a bicycle.
It is a known fact that during physical training, the heart rate is an important parameter. In many cases it is an aim to keep the heart rate within a certain range, at the same time, overdoing the training and the associated too high heart rate may also be harmful.
The training equipments used in gyms have been monitoring and displaying the heart rate for a long time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,461 describes a device and method, which is based on the monitoring of the heart rate. For ensuring an appropriate heart frequency the monitor of the device gives instructions for the person performing the physical training (the runner, in a given case) to increase the speed or reduce the speed in order to keep the heart rate close to the allowed maximum. The device disregards the route covered by the runner, the landscape, at the same time, it is burdensome for the person performing the physical training to follow the continuous instructions and it is also unnecessarily tiring to pay continuous attention to the monitor.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,360,936 B2 is similar to the above publication, however it is a training equipment, which determines different zones based on the heart rate, and it displays such zones for the person performing the physical training with different colors. The aim of the equipment is to ensure a physical training controlled by heart rate.
EP 0925096 introduces a training equipment, which, based on heart rate monitoring, controls the load and, as a result, executes the optimal training program.
In document WO2013/075072a method and equipment is described, which, for training purposes, primarily in the case of running along a navigated route, monitors the status of the body and it signals, in case it finds that along the navigated route the recourse of the body increases above the allowed load. In such a case, it re-plans the route or suggests an easier route for the person performing the training.
The basis of the method is the so called cost determination, which is carried out for certain sections of the navigated route (which have consistent difficulty level from a load perspective), moreover, the costs are summed up for the entire route. The definition of cost is rather abstract based on the mentioned document, however, it can be stated that the fitness of certain people is taken into consideration, as well as one or more measured health parameters of the body (primarily the heart rate) depending on the amount of load, as well as the person's age and capabilities. These parameters are taken into consideration as weighted factors, and the basic data are stored based on data gained pursuant to the examination of a number of persons depending on the difficulty level of the landscape. The publication, in the course of the valuation of the data, takes into consideration the outer temperature, the weather conditions and suggests a “self-learning” system, which, based on the series of the previously measured data, refine and update the stored data.
Based on the set out, measured and stored quantities, the publication does not specify the definition of cost and how the cost data is measured and totalized, pursuant to which it provides an estimate for the entire route.
Based on the publication it is distinct, that in the course of the determination of the cost the calculation is done based on the measured data and disregards a number of important circumstances, which are basic parameters of the training and, therefore, affect the accuracy and reliability of the estimations. From those, the following main factors shall be mentioned:
The training is a continuous effort, during which the extent of the load may change, at the same time the body naturally gets tired as a result of the recourse, i.e., after a prior given load the loadability of the body may decrease both in terms of length of the training time and energy, as opposed to in a relaxed state. The load, if it is taken into consideration in the form of a “cost”, will provide different values at the beginning, in the middle of or at the end of the training, and therefore, in the course of the calculations, the length and extent of the previous load cannot be disregarded.
The human body, however, is capable of being regenerated to a certain extent in the course of a load, i.e., if, in the course of the training, there are sections with less load or specifically relaxing sections (for example, during riding a bicycle the horizontal landscape or downhill can be considered as a relaxing section) pursuant to a partial regeneration the loadability of the person may increase, as opposed to where there is no regeneration section in the course of the training.
Finally, it should be noted that in the course of the training, particularly, if it is being carried out on an unknown landscape, there may be certain sections, which exceed the normal loadability of the person performing the training, therefore, such section should be avoided even if the cost calculated for the entire route would fall within the range that is permitted for the given person.
The training along a planned navigated route comes into play with respect to bicycle trainings, but in many cases, as well as in the course of running/walking. In the case of bicycles, the use of the electric bicycles is very popular, where the ratio of the human drive and the supplementary electric drive may be adjusted, moreover, these ratios may be set electronically.
For the persons performing the training the most comfortable and effective would be if they would be able to run or ride a bicycle on such a landscape or route, which is capable of accommodating their training concepts to the maximum.
The heart rate is known to be the body's reaction to the load, and it is practical for everybody to do training according to his or her own fitness and health status in a way so that the heart rate is kept within a certain range, and longer overloads (when the heart frequency exceeds the permitted threshold or the threshold proposed from a health perspective) should be avoided.